Labour attacks acowarda Boris Johnson as parties prepare for byelection a UK politics live
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:16:01 GMT
From https:

Angela Rayner says former PM has no respect for voters, as Keir Starmer and Ed Davey turn focus to winning new seat

Weave got a bit more from Ed Davey, who has accused Boris Johnson of having aa track record of deceit and liesa.

I never thought he was fit to be an MP, let alone prime minister. He has a track record of deceit and lies.

But I hope today is not just about Boris Johnson. I think itas about the whole Conservative party who put him there in the first place.

I think there should actually be a general election.

I think the chaos and division in the Conservative party, the fact that theyare so out of touch on the cost of living, on the NHS, it means weave got to put the country out of its misery with these Conservatives.

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Boris Johnsonas resignation statement a what he really meant
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:43:10 GMT
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As ever with the former PM there was plenty of barely hidden subtext as he took aim at perceived enemies

Boris Johnsonas statement announcing he will quit the Commons is not brief a more than 1,000 words a and, as ever with the former prime ministeras pronouncements, there is a lot of often barely hidden subtext:

I have received a letter from the privileges committee making it clear a much to my amazement a that they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of parliament.

They have still not produced a shred of evidence that I knowingly or recklessly misled the Commons.

They know perfectly well that when I spoke in the Commons I was saying what I believed sincerely to be true and what I had been briefed to say, like any other minister.

They know that I corrected the record as soon as possible; and they know that I and every other senior official and minister a including the current prime minister and then occupant of the same building, Rishi Sunak a believed that we were working lawfully together.

Most members of the committee a especially the chair a had already expressed deeply prejudicial remarks about my guilt before they had even seen the evidence. They should have recused themselves.

In retrospect it was naive and trusting of me to think that these proceedings could be remotely useful or fair. But I was determined to believe in the system, and in justice, and to vindicate what I knew to be the truth.

It was the same faith in the impartiality of our systems that led me to commission Sue Gray. It is clear that my faith has been misplaced. Of course, it suits the Labour party, the Liberal Democrats, and the SNP to do whatever they can to remove me from parliament.

Sadly, as we saw in July last year, there are currently some Tory MPs who share that view. I am not alone in thinking that there is a witch-hunt under way, to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result.

My removal is the necessary first step, and I believe there has been a concerted attempt to bring it about. I am afraid I no longer believe that it is any coincidence that Sue Gray a who investigated gatherings in No 10 a is now the chief of staff designate of the Labour leader.

Nor do I believe that it is any coincidence that her supposedly impartial chief counsel, Daniel Stilitz KC, turned out to be a strong Labour supporter who repeatedly tweeted personal attacks on me and the government.

When I left office last year the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now massively widened.

Just a few years after winning the biggest majority in almost half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk.

Our party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.

We need to deliver on the 2019 manifesto, which was endorsed by 14 million people. We should remember that more than 17 million voted for Brexit.

I am now being forced out of parliament by a tiny handful of people, with no evidence to back up their assertions, and without the approval even of Conservative party members let alone the wider electorate.

The Conservative party has the time to recover its mojo and its ambition and to win the next election.

I had looked forward to providing enthusiastic support as a backbench MP. Harriet Harmanas committee has set out to make that objective completely untenable.

The committeeas report is riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice but under their absurd and unjust process I have no formal ability to challenge anything they say.

The privileges committee is there to protect the privileges of parliament. That is a very important job. They should not be using their powers a which have only been very recently designed a to mount what is plainly a political hit-job on someone they oppose.

I am very sorry to leave my wonderful constituency. It has been a huge honour to serve them, both as mayor and MP.

But I am proud that after what is cumulatively a 15-year stint I have helped to deliver among other things a vast new railway in the Elizabeth line and full funding for a wonderful new state of the art hospital for Hillingdon, where enabling works have already begun.

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Boris Johnson a acowarda for quitting to avoid byelection, says Angela Rayner
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:57:12 GMT
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Deputy Labour leader says former PM has ano respecta for Tory voters and aknows he is in the wronga

Boris Johnson is a acowarda who has ano respecta for the 2019 Conservative voters who put their faith in him, Labouras deputy leader has said, after he dramatically quit parliament before the findings of a cross-party investigation into whether he lied to the Commons had been published.,

The former prime minister resigned on Friday night after learning that an investigation into the Partygate scandal found he misled parliament, and he was likely to face a lengthy suspension from the Commons.

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Colombian amiraclea children found alive 40 days after Amazon jungle plane crash
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 03:47:44 GMT
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The Indigenous children a one of whom was just 11 months old a are thought to have eaten food dropped by rescuers and used their own ancestral knowledge

Malnourished and covered in insect bites, four Indigenous children were rescued alive from the Colombian Amazon on Friday afternoon, 40 days after the plane they were travelling in crashed into the jungle.

In a remarkable feat of resilience, the children survived heavy storms in one of the most inhospitable parts of the country, home to predatory animals and armed groups.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukraine has penetrated Russian lines in some areas, says UK
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:33:11 GMT
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UK Ministry of Defence says Ukraine has alikely made good progressa in some areas but that progress is aslowera in others

The latest intelligence update from the UKas Ministry of Defence said over the past 48 hours asignificanta Ukrainian operations have taken place in several sectors of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces have alikely made good progressa and apenetrated the first line of Russian defencesa, the MoD added. However, in other areas aUkrainian progress has been slowera.

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Donald Trump uses his legal woes to plead for money from supporters a again
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:00:20 GMT
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Following his indictment, Trump asked supporters to amake a contribution to peacefully defend our movement from the neverending witch huntsa

Federally indicted Donald Trump, newly charged with multiple counts over his mishandling of classified documents, is using his legal woes to plead for money a again.

The sweeping 37-count felony indictment paints a damaging portrait of Trumpas treatment of sensitive documents, accusing him of defying justice department demands to return papers he had taken to his Florida home of Mar-a-Lago, and even storing some of them in a shower.

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Greta Thunberg takes part in her last school strike for climate
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:36:21 GMT
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As activist graduates from school, she says she will still protest on Fridays as afight has only just beguna

After what began as a solo protest in Sweden five years ago and grew into a movement with millions of children across the world participating, Greta Thunberg has taken part in her last aschool strikea protest as she graduates from school.

The protests, which led to many climate activist movements across Europe, the US and Australia, are known as Fridays for Future or School Strike for Climate.

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Government afanning culture wara over free speech, says UKas first LGBTQ+ history professor
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:16 GMT
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Issue blown out of proportion, says Matt Cook, after appointment of afree speech tsara for higher education

Oxford Universityas new professor of LGBTQ+ history has accused the government of afanning a culture wara over freedom of speech, insisting it is alive and well in higher education.

Matt Cook, who was this week named as the first Jonathan Cooper chair of the history of sexualities, a newly created post at Mansfield College, was speaking only days after the appointment of the governmentas first afree speech tsara for higher education.

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Disco then shower at 33,000ft: Dubai hotelier launches APS10k-an-hour aparty jeta
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:16 GMT
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Plane can accommodate up to 16 people and is aimed at super-rich who awant to enjoy the money while still alivea

Forget partying on the ground: the super-rich are being told to do it at 33,000ft by a multimillionaire Dubai hotelier launching a APS10,000-an-hour afive-star party jeta.

Kabir Mulchandani, the founder and chair of the luxury hotel group FIVE, has bought a Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty and claims to have transformed it into a aboundary-breaking fusion of hospitality and private aviationa, complete with dancing area, king-size bed and shower.

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Nationwideas APS100 payouts labelled aunfaira by some customers
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:15 GMT
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Longstanding members angry at being excluded from APS340m cash giveaway, which starts next week

A APS340m cash giveaway kicks off next week when one-off payments of APS100 apiece will start appearing in the bank accounts of 3.4 million Nationwide building society customers.

However, the unprecedented payout has created a ahavesa and ahave notsa split within the societyas membership, with some longstanding customers and people holding multiple Nationwide products angry at being excluded.

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Black remand prisoners held 70% longer than white counterparts in England and Wales
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:18 GMT
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Data also shows black defendants more likely to be held in prison a yet more likely to be acquitted

Black defendants spend on average more than 70% longer in prison awaiting trial and sentencing in England and Wales than their white counterparts, according to new data revealing racial disparities at the heart of the criminal justice system.

Figures obtained by the Guardian and Liberty Investigates through the Freedom of Information Act show the mean number of days spent on remand by black prisoners last year was 302 a compared with 177 days for white remand prisoners.

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aHelp mea: South Carolina woman shops passenger to police with silent message
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:15 GMT
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Driver of Jeep stopped for running red light helps police jail man a her own passenger a suspected of attempted murder and kidnap

By mouthing the words ahelp mea to an officer who had pulled her over for a traffic stop, a woman in South Carolina helped authorities jail a man suspected of a shooting and a kidnapping: her own passenger, according to authorities.

The unusual encounter began when officer Kayla Wallace pulled over a woman behind the wheel of a Jeep that ran a red light during the early evening of 28 May, the North Myrtle Beach police department said in a statement this week. Wallace noticed the woman was in distress while seated alongside 29-year-old Collin Bates, the policeas statement added.

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Greggs opens fourth shop in Cornwall but has no pasties on the menu
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 08:00:16 GMT
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Newcastle-based baker makes second attempt to win over Saltash after franchise store failed

Saying that feelings run high about Greggs in Cornwall is an understatement. A local critic memorably described the company as the adevilas spawna when it dared to set up shop in Truro.

But the Newcastle-based baker has not been cowed and its fourth shop in the county opens in Saltash on Saturday. It is Greggsa second attempt to win over the town, after a franchise store that opened in 2018 closed within a year.

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aThree months ago, this wasnat possiblea: exiled Russians dare to dream of Putinas fall
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 04:00:11 GMT
From https:

Opposition leaders have begun to plan for the end of the regime a and some believe it is now inevitable

Is Russia about to experience a period of dramatic political change? If so, can exiled democratic forces unite into a coherent bloc, and is there any way for them to force themselves on to the political scene?

Nearly 300 exiled Russian opposition politicians and activists gathered to discuss these questions in the European parliament earlier this week, the congress coming as news broke of the Nova Kakhovka dam destruction, the latest grim episode in Vladimir Putinas war on Ukraine.

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UK launches APS150m fund to help Ukrainians into their own homes
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:42:07 GMT
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Money will go to councils across Britain to help Ukrainians secure private rented housing and find work

A APS150m fund to help Ukrainians into their own homes has been announced by the UK government.

More than 124,000 people have arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine scheme since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.

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I re-read my teenage diaries hoping for a dose of nostalgia a instead I was horrified
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:00:19 GMT
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Lust, cruelty and a desperate need for attention ... I thought my old journals would bring back warm memories a in reality they were a document of the unique misery and painful insecurities of adolescence

I own nine of the most devastatingly embarrassing books ever written. They might be the only books that attempt to algebraically prove the existence of God 14 pages after the words, aI donat want to touch his penis.a Actually, thatas probably not true a the books are my teenage diaries, and thereas nothing unique about the humiliating and exhilarating experience of being a 14-year-old girl.

If thereas one thing in the world I never want to be again and wish I never had to be in the first place, itas a teenage swot with PE in the morning. When I ask female friends if they think being a teen was uniquely awful, one replies auniquely awful and uniquely speciala a but I donat think that is something I ever felt. I love to see the magic of girlhood represented in coming-of-age movies such as Lady Bird and Booksmart, but I look back at my own adolescent self and see a floundering fish who hurt and was hurt with little meaning or beauty.

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aWhat I do is still tabooa: the people who sell images of their unlikely body parts online
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:00:18 GMT
From https:

From dirty feet to immaculate nails a and hairy armpits a thereas a market for the most unusual photos

George Woodville, 20, UK

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Elliot Page on Juno, Hollywoodas dark side and coming out twice
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:14 GMT
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When the feelgood movie made him an Oscar-nominated star, the strain of hiding who he was almost forced him to quit acting. He explains how opening up about being gay, then trans, saved his life

Elliot Pageas memoir is called Pageboy. At its heart is the story of his transitioning from an Oscar-nominated actress, best known for the wonderful coming-of-age comedy drama Juno, to one of the worldas most high profile trans men. He writes, rather beautifully, about gender dysphoria, top surgery and finally finding himself. But the book is so much more than a tale of transition.

Pageboy is a modern-day Hollywood Babylon, written by a sensitive soul rather than a scandalmonger. Page depicts a film industry even more rancid than we may have suspected. This is a world where itas not only the Harvey Weinsteins at the top of the pyramid who get to abuse the young and powerless a just about everybody seems to have a go. Itas a world where most people appear to be closeted in one way or another, a world where more acting is done off set than on.

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How to avoid a civil war, by the man who predicted Trump
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:00:19 GMT
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Across the west, popular misery and aelite overproductiona are fuelling crisis, argues data-driven historian Peter Turchin. So what can we do to turn things around?

In February 2010, Peter Turchin, a relatively obscure researcher at the University of Connecticut, wrote a letter to the distinguished journal Nature. He was responding to their a2020 visionsa issue a an upbeat dawn-of-the-decade exercise that collected predictions of progress from across science and politics. Turchin assumed the role of Cassandra. aThe next decade is likely to be a period of growing instability in the United States and western Europe,a he wrote, awhich could undermine the sort of scientific progress you describe.a He pointed to waves of disruption that tend to recur every 50 years. aAll these cycles look set to peak in the years around 2020.a There was still time to change course, though: with measures to improve wellbeing and reduce economic inequality, arecords show that societies can avert disastera.

Normally scientists enjoy being proved right, but for Turchin, the way the following decade panned out must have seemed a bit too on-the-nose. The response to the financial crisis wasnat a New Deal-style rescue package as head recommended, but austerity and a widening of the gap between rich and poor. Frustration at the established order threw up Brexit in Britain and Trump in the US. Right on cue, 2020 delivered a pandemic, economic chaos and a president who refused to concede defeat at the polls. The following January saw the storming of the Capitol, and images of insurrection that seemed like a throwback to an earlier revolutionary era.

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Rev Richard Coles: aThe best kiss of my life? At school, in the boysa toilets. It made my knees tremblea
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 08:30:17 GMT
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The author and radio presenter on Ibiza 1990, the bad boys of Brexit and his infamous Strictly paso doble

Born in Northampton, the Rev Richard Coles, 61, was in 1980s pop duo the Communards, whose hits include Donat Leave Me This Way. He went on to study theology at Kingas College London and was ordained as an Anglican clergyman in 2005. From 2011 to 2023, he coapresented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4. His books include The Madness of Grief about the loss of his partner, David, in 2019. His second novel, A Death in the Parish, has just been published. Last year, he retired from his Northamptonshire parish and now lives in Sussex.

When were you happiest?
Technically, Ibiza 1990, because of the amount of ecstasy Iad taken.

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Blind date: aI guessed she was Canadian a sheas from Glasgowa
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 05:00:13 GMT
From https:

Alison, 29, a data scientist meets Emma, 29, a policy officer

What were you hoping for?
A good story and to rack up a bill that would give me nightmares if I were paying myself. And potentially to meet the love of my life.

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aPartyas over, Borisa: what the UK papers say about Johnsonas Partygate resignation
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 02:35:59 GMT
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Some newspapers focus on former PMas accusations in fiery resignation letter, while others point readers towards damning committee report

Boris Johnsonas departure from life as an MP ahead of the publication of the Partygate report plays out across Saturdayas front pages, which are filled with a mixture of acrimony, triumph and predictions of further aTory bloodlettinga.

The Guardian focuses on the reason for his decision to resign as MP, noting that the privileges committee found he misled parliament and recommended a lengthy suspension from the House of Commons. It finds a spot lower down for the reaction to Rishi Sunak approving Johnsonas honours list, regarded as rewarding those involved in the Partygate scandal.

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From surfing to self discovery: five of the best male-only wellness camps in Europe
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:00:19 GMT
From https:

These getaways are geared towards giving men a reboot, and include both the spiritual a breathwork and midfulness a and physical, through activities such as mountain walking and coasteering

One definition of wellness is athe state of being healthy, especially when it is something that you actively try to achievea. However, in todayas society, wellness seems to be a catch-all term for anything remotely health-related, fitness, dietary or cosmetic. You name it: biometric facials, sleep syncing, orgasmic meditation. Perhaps thatas why wellness is a word thatas still taboo among many men, particularly those from more traditional, working-class backgrounds.

Aside from a dilution of the term by fads and crazes, such as the ones listed above and those floating around on TikTok and Instagram, another issue may be a lack of retreats for men. Weare not talking the Ant Middleton-style aman-up or go homea military fitness camps, nor Wim Hof woo-woo, just solid, safe spaces for men to talk, improve physical and mental wellbeing and escape the pressures of everyday life to develop meaningful connections. Thankfully, there are some pioneers leading the way in male wellness, ranging from hiking escapes in Snowdonia and breathwork getaways in southern Spain to a GBTQ pop-up retreat in Europe, promoting communication and emotional connection.

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World Test Championship final: Australia v India, day four a live
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:50:47 GMT
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48th over: Australia 128-5 (Green 8, Carey 4) Green keeps on playing outside that off stump! Reaches very wide for an off-balance drive that hits cover directly. Gets an edge along the turf to third slip. He edged to slip in the first innings. Spoke about the IPL transition, where you go from hitting the ball in front of your body for power, to hitting the red ball as late as you can. But heas more in white-ball mode here. Good seam from Shami cuts back in but his bounce takes it over the stumps. Indiaas bowlers have had so many beaten edges in this match, and Iad say itas because theyave so often bowled a small margin too short.

No score from the over. Five runs in four overs this morning.

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How Jack Grealish went from meh man to a main man at Manchester City
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:18 GMT
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Record signing was often peripheral in last seasonas big games but now feels he belongs and is showing it on and off the ball

It is safe to assume that Jack Grealish got involved and helped to drink aall the alcohol in Manchestera, as Pep Guardiola had it, after Cityas latest Premier League title coronation last month. Of course, he did. Grealish is not, to borrow one of his good-natured jibes, Erling Haaland asitting in his ice batha. He loves a night out and is happy to say so. It is a part of his Jack the lad appeal.

With Grealish, there is the sense that he is never more than a few beers from a major PR incident. He is a danger man on and off the pitch and, again, it seems to be why people see him and smile a even when, at times, they know they should not.

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As BT Sport prepares to hand baton to TNT Sports, how is picture so unclear?
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:15 GMT
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Champions League final is BTas last big night but its successor does not have a UK website and cost to watch it is unknown

BT Sport will host its last big night on Saturday. The Champions League final in Istanbul will be the end for a brand that, over the past decade, extended live coverage of sport in the UK and became the first serious rival to Sky Sports. Taking its place will be TNT Sports, a channel that promises anew name, same gamea. But with a month until it launches, viewers are still in the dark as to what exactly that will mean.

TNT Sports goes live on 18 July but does not yet have a website in the UK. The cost of watching it remains not entirely clear either. That the channels will roll over existing deals for the Premier League and Champions League, alongside Premiership rugby union and MotoGP among other sports, is guaranteed, but some programmes are being axed and who will present and analyse the action is not known. All of this comes against a backdrop of increasing turbulence in what was once known as the pay-TV industry, with TNT Sportsa UK and Ireland offering just one cog in a global wheel of content.

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Ollie Robinson: aI felt I was never going to play cricket againa
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:16 GMT
From https:

England quick is contrite about his racist tweets and with Ashes about to start he has already bowled Labuschagne and Smith

aaI was at a point where I thought: aThis is make or breaka,a Ollie Robinson says as he describes the first of two different debuts that helped shape his transition from confusion and loss. The 29-year-old fast bowler will be one of Englandas key players when they face Australia in the opening Ashes Test next Friday a but a shocking early death and a public shaming shroud those contrasting games from his past.

aI didnat have much to lose,a Robinson says as he continues the story of his Sussex debut in April 2015. aI might have got out for nought but I had to try and put on a show and get my name back out there.a

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aRugby needs a reseta: Premiership collapses show need for total reform
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:17 GMT
From https:

More pain could follow the calamities of Wasps, Worcester and London Irish but the drive exists to fight for rugbyas future

Sometimes it is not the icebergas fault. Had the captains of some of English club rugbyas largest vessels been more focused on avoiding this seasonas multiple shipwrecks they could easily have steered a more prudent course. Hindsight always helps but if your outgoings constantly exceed your income you are bound to sink eventually, as Worcester, Wasps and now London Irish can testify.

Most painful for those most deeply affected, perhaps, is that even the most myopic of lookouts could recognise this ever-present threat. Yet for whatever reason a arrogance, selfishness, greed, complacency, poor governance a the clubs and their governing body remained in thrall to the same old flawed model. Rich benefactor equals rugby success, right? Not if they ignore the basic tenets of sound business practice it wonat.

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aI feel like a kid againa: CJ Ujah returns to the track and targets redemption in Paris
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:16 GMT
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Having served a 22-month ban for failing a drugs test, the sprinter wants to make up for lost time after making a low-key return

Hidden in plain sight among the teenagers and pensioners who have paid their APS14 entry fee to compete at the Lee Valley Sprint Night is a Team GB star who has not stepped onto the track since failing a drugs test at the Tokyo Olympics; a contrite athlete seeking a new beginning.

Cheered on by his close friend Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake a one of the British quartet who lost their Olympic 4x100 metres silver medal because of his actions a CJ Ujah does what for so long had been commonplace: he wins a race. Two, in fact.

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It took me a long time, but I've finally fallen in love with being gay | Eleanor Margolis
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:00:17 GMT
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I owe my happiness to the queer friends I made. And to my younger self who hated being gay: all is forgiven

I was lying awake the other night, thinking about death, when I realised something big. Of all the things I could be reincarnated as a a tapeworm, a dung beetle, a writer (again) a the thing I most fear is coming back as straight. Honestly, the idea sends a shiver down my spine. Because, no disrespect to my straight friends, but I donat know how they get through the day. Straight women, in particular. I donat understand how they go through life, dealing with the whole power dynamic in opposite-sex relationships, without even the option of dating other women. I donat think I could hack it, and they have my utmost respect.

Itas not just the romantic side of things, though a over the years, being gay has shifted my entire worldview. Itas made me think twice about every social norm, from the nuclear family to uncomfortable footwear. And Iam not saying that all straight people lack the imagination to challenge these things too, but being gay really helps. Recently, it dawned on me that Iam perfectly within my right to shop for clothes in the menas section, and that in itself has been a revelation. Again, I know straight women who do this. But when it comes to wearing amenasa clothes with any real ease and confidence, being a lesbian just helps.

Eleanor Margolis is a columnist for the i newspaper and Diva

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Labouras green pledge offers everything voters want: to delay it would be foolish | Rebecca Newsom
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:17 GMT
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Swift investment would make any Labour government a climate and economic leader a so why the dithering?

As wildfire smoke engulfs much of the east coast of the US and average global temperatures continue to rise, with the world imminently facing some of the hottest years on record, it would be an error of judgment for the Labour party to delay its green investment pledge. Doing so would not only be a mistake for our economy and the climate, but also threaten Labouras electoral prospects, given strong public demand for bold action on this issue.

Together with its world-leading promise to end all new domestic oil and gas developments, the Labour partyas APS28bn-a-year investment pledge to green industries marks the scale of climate ambition we need to see from a future British government. These commitments mark Labour out as a potential major climate leader and, like Joe Bidenas landmark Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the investment pledge clearly demonstrates that the party is in tune with the economic realities of todayas world.

Rebecca Newsom is head of politics at Greenpeace

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Ministers warned England set to miss wildlife and biodiversity targets
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:14 GMT
From https:

Exclusive: Natural England chair Tony Juniper says government must work quickly to reconcile farming and nature

England will not meet its biodiversity targets at current rates, the chair of Natural England has said, as he accused ministers of moving too slowly to regenerate nature.

Tony Juniper, who has been in post at the governmentas nature quango since 2019, said ministers were not on track to meet species abundance targets, which have been criticised by wildlife charities as aembarrassingly poora.

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Winston Churchillas grandson donated nearly APS5,000 to Liberal Democrats
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:15 GMT
From https:

Ex-Serco chief Rupert Soames says financial support was for afrienda and prospective MP Angus MacDonald

Rupert Soames, the grandson of the Conservative wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill, has donated nearly APS5,000 to a prospective Liberal Democrat MP.

Soames, who spent most of his career in the City, most recently running outsourcer Serco, gave APS4,999 in financial support to the Liberal Democrats in March, according to official records released this week.

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Country diary: The carrot cousin thatas pretty but deadly | Jim Perrin
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 04:30:12 GMT
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Harlech, Gwynedd: At the boundary of a wood I find some hemlock water dropwort, of which every part is poisonous

The path climbs slate steps before slanting left through oakwoods alive with the song of warblers. Green caterpillars wriggle in flycatchersa bills (less effort to catch than flies, I suppose). Clouds of midges dance in shafts of sunlight. A long climbing traverse with views of Yr Wyddfa lures you on, takes you to the woodas boundary. I lean against a wall, look around, and down to my right in a moist ditch see a plant of which all who venture into the Welsh countryside should be very wary.

Itas an umbellifer, less tall than hogweed. I check out crucial detail. White flower-clusters are already present. Stems are hairless and hollow, lacking purple blotches low down that would identify this specimen as Conium maculatum (hemlock). Itas Oenanthe crocata a hemlock water dropwort, deadliest of all British plants, every part of it very poisonous. A member of the carrot family, it has pale, tuberous roots a dead manas finger. Foragers beware!

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Nine people killed in attack by al-Shabaab in Somali capital Mogadishu
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:15:07 GMT
From https:

Islamist militants claim responsibility for blast at popular restaurant on Friday night that injured 20 people

Nine people were killed in an attack claimed by al-Shabaab Islamist militants at an upmarket restaurant in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Friday night, police have said.

Those killed at the popular Pearl restaurant were six civilians and three soldiers, police said in a statement.

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Germans best tippers in Europe, finds poll. Italians? Not so much
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:17 GMT
From https:

Dutiful German generosity revealed in analysis of gratuity habits in six EU countries, the UK and US

In Germany it seems to be pretty much automatic, pretty much all the time. In France and Spain it all depends a presumably on social subtleties that you have to be French or Spanish to understand. In Italy, why would you even bother?

When, and how much, to tip is a question that has been vexing visitors to Europe for as long as people have been travelling around the continent. Outside their own country, it seems even Europeans donat know the answer.

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Turning point or the long game: whatas behind John Robertsas surprise supreme court voting rights ruling?
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:00:20 GMT
From https:

Chief justiceas opinion shocked observers of his 40-year assault on the Voting Rights Act, but it may not mean a change of heart

The US supreme court ruling delivered on Thursday by John Roberts marks a departure for the chief justice from his 40-year battle to whittle down racial equality protections enshrined in the crowning glory of the civil rights movement.

Roberts wrote the Allen v Milligan opinion himself, forging an unconventional 5-4 majority with the support of the three liberal-leaning justices plus the partial backing of the conservative Brett Kavanaugh. The chief justiceas decision to cling closely to precedent and avoid a sweeping reframing of voting rights law took supreme court observers by surprise.

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A million good lucks: California family finds over 1m copper pennies
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 01:13:59 GMT
From https:

John Reyes and his family were cleaning out his father-in-lawas home when they made the surprise discovery

Cleaning out a house for renovation can oftentimes produce some unsavory surprises, but a family in Los Angeles got lucky a a million times over a with one of their finds.

John Reyes, a realtor in the Inland Empire area, was helping his wife, Elizabeth, clean out her fatheras 1900s-era home last year when they discovered more than 1m copper pennies in a cramped crawlspace in the basement, according to KTLA news. The trove has a face value of at least $10,000, but could be worth more than $1m.

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Hero who saved hundreds of children during Rwandan genocide dies aged 61
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 05:00:14 GMT
From https:

Orphanage run by Damas Gisimba and his brother became refuge from militias during genocide that killed 800,000 Rwandans

Damas Gisimba, who sheltered and saved the lives of hundreds of people during the Rwandan genocide, has died. He was 61.

In 1994, Gisimba and his brother were running an orphanage founded by their parents in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

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Tove Janssonas unseen Moomin sketches to go on show in Paris
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:17 GMT
From https:

Exhibition focuses on life and career of abrave and uncompromisinga Finnish artist and writer

The Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson wooed children the world over with her troll creations the Moomins, the central characters in a series of novels, short stories and comic strips.

A new exhibition in Paris is to reveal never publicly seen archive material from the late artist, including a number of Moomin sketches.

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Italian special forces storm Turkish cargo ship after attempted hijack
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 08:01:51 GMT
From https:

Stowaways allegedly tried to take sailors hostage after being discovered on Galatea Seaways bound for France

Italian special forces have stormed a cargo ship sailing from Turkey to France after about 15 people armed with knives attempted to hijack the vessel.

The asylum seekers, 13 men and two women, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, had allegedly sneaked undetected on to the roll-on, roll-off cargo ship, named Galatea Seaways, in the hope of reaching Europe.

AFP and Ansa contributed to this report

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TV tonight: a gorgeous documentary about afirst lady of songa Ella Fitzgerald
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 05:00:13 GMT
From https:

Laura Mvula and Jamie Cullum help celebrate the singer. Plus: on the hunt for Tutankhamun. Hereas everything to watch this evening.

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Bums away: The Full Monty is back a but without the nudity
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:16 GMT
From https:

No one wants to see the cast naked any more, so this TV follow-up shuns stripping for comic capers and cost-of-living tragedy. Even better, it actually gives plotlines to the female characters

Television shows that remake films tend to be exercises in pointless nostalgia. Do you remember the movies Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons and American Gigolo? Yes. Would you like to watch a weird cosplay version of them that goes on for 10 hours and confusingly reshuffles the plot? Um, not really. The Full Monty (from 14 June, Disney+) is the latest entrant in an already tired genre, but it has one up on most of the competition: all the core cast are in that sweet spot where theyare successful enough to be worth rehiring but not so famous theyave turned the reboot down. That means thereas no need to rejig the story of redundant Sheffield steelworkers who, in 1997, found solace in hard times by forming a Chippendales-style male striptease troupe. We simply return to Sheffield 26 years later, to find the same characters, played by the same actors, living the same lives.

The film had it easy, plot-wise, in that it built towards that heartwarming climactic moment when a sextet of men showed the local community their penises. Those six appendages were the pegs on which were hung serious subtexts about the misery of life in a Thatcher-ravaged, deindustrialised northern England. A quarter of a century on, however, the prospect of the old boys windmilling their hosepipes in housewivesa faces would horrify everyone. So the new Full Monty is fully clothes-on.

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From SZA to The Full Monty: a complete guide to this weekas entertainment
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 05:00:13 GMT
From https:

Whether itas pop superstars or Sheffield strippers, our critics have you covered for the next seven days

Medusa Deluxe
Out now
After a stylist at a hairdressing competition is found dead, the rest of the competitors play detective in this intriguingly camp spin on a traditional murder mystery. Director Thomas Hardimanas feature debut looks a treat too, with camerawork from Oscar nominee Robbie Ryan.

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Tom Gauld on a devilish Midsummeras Eve book launch a cartoon
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:17 GMT
From https:
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Yotam Ottolenghias recipes for cooking with feta
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:16 GMT
From https:

A feta-filled frittata, feta-stuffed koftas with grilled peppers, and a spring salad with a buttermilk and feta dressing

I knew I was on to a good thing when my new test kitchen colleague Katja Tausig started talking about and cooking with feta. For a team whose mantra might well be aEverythingas better with feta!a, her enthusiasm, and desire to dedicate a whole column to this briny, tangy, salty cheese, meant that the fit was complete. So hereas to welcoming Katja and to celebrating feta: crumble it, bake it, blitz it, stuff with it, showcase it.

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Tim Dowling: an empty nest looms a and weare already rehearsing for it
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 05:00:13 GMT
From https:

This may be the last time I see our three adult children bickering over a boardgame around the kitchen table

The youngest one is turning 24. His presents consist largely of domestic appliances a a microwave, a kettle, a toaster a because he is scheduled to move out soon. My wife is also trying to organise a birthday lunch for him, but the timings are difficult: the oldest one lives on the other side of London; the middle one has an appointment to view a flat, because he is also poised to move out.

After years of having our adult children underfoot, my wife and I are about to find ourselves alone. Neither of us really knows what this will be like, although weave had a few alarming rehearsals.

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aThere were some hiccupsa: Edith Pritchett on her first driving test a cartoon
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 05:00:14 GMT
From https:
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In the company of men a and Zen: a male-only wellness retreat in Wiltshire
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:14 GMT
From https:

A retreat deep in an ancient Wiltshire forest offers jiu-jitsu, wild swimming and an emotional detox among like-minded strangers

I was an hour late by the time my car careened down a bumpy country lane into the ecovillage that would be my home for the weekend. The Easter getaway had turned my three-hour drive into five, rain lashing the windows throughout, and I arrived for my first wellness retreat about as far from zen as you could get.

One of the founders, the 29-year-old spiritual guru Josh Bolding, floats across the car park and greets me with a hug. Iad have preferred a beer, but I go with the man-hug. There is no time for small talk: Iam the last to arrive and he whisks me into the practice room, a wooden hut on stilts, where the other guests are settling into the first session on yin yoga and breathwork.

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aBe as diverse as possible!a: a gardening pioneeras guide to growing on a warming planet
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:15 GMT
From https:

The gardening pioneer Joy Larkhom changed how we grow veg and championed rocket, salad bags and pak choi. What is she growing now?

Joy Larkcom is singing the praises of sugarloaf chicory. aItas got deep roots, its leaves form a dense, crisp heart, and it withstands drought better than lettuce,a she says. aSadly, these rarely find their way into the seed catalogues for amateur gardeners.a Her love for this unsung salad leaf sums up Larkcomas lifelong passion: to bring more variety to our kitchen tables and preserve genetic diversity.

Larkcom, 87, is a vegetable grower and writer famous for her influential books from The Organic Salad Garden to Grow Your Own Vegetables. Drawing from direct experience a for 30 years as an experimental market gardener in Suffolk; latterly in her garden in West Cork a her writing reads just as she speaks: authoritative yet lighthearted, combining practical, scientifically sound advice with an enthusiasm for continued learning.

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Garden water butts get a long overdue design makeover
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:00:18 GMT
From https:

Traditional plastic rain barrels have often been hidden away but greater focus on conservation drives design changes

They are water-saving wonders but plastic water butts have traditionally been eyesores to keep hidden from view. Now, though, with conserving water more important than ever, designers have upped the ante with clever models that double as planters, ornaments and even fountains.

The market was ripe for a makeover because aone of the barriers to having a water butt is that itas got to be in your garden, and we want our gardens to look nice, donat we?a says Gin Tidridge, a product sustainability manager at the B&Q owner Kingfisher.

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aFundamentally dangerousa: reversal of social media guardrails could prove disastrous for 2024 elections
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 10:00:20 GMT
From https:

Scaling back of moderation and rise of AI are creating the perfect storm to weaken elections and democracy

Increasing misinformation on social media, platforms scaling back content moderation and the rise of AI are converging to create a perfect storm for the 2024 elections that some experts warn could put democracy at risk.

YouTube this week reversed its election integrity policy, allowing content contesting the validity of the 2020 elections to remain on the platform. Meta, meanwhile, reinstated the Instagram account of misinformation super spreader Robert F Kennedy Jr and will allow Donald Trump to post again imminently. Twitter has also allowed Trump to return, and has generally seen a rise in the spread of misinformation since billionaire Elon Musk took over the platform last year.

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From ornamental tree to fruit aof the godsa: Australians discover the joy of feijoa
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 00:00:07 GMT
From https:

With only a fortnight left of feijoa season in Australia, enthusiasts are snapping up the green-skinned fruits a if they can find them

Apples and oranges are the lowest hanging fruit during Australiaas autumn and winter. But this time of year is also the short, sweet season for a far more obscure crop: feijoa. The fruit, native to South America, has a green skin, an oval shape and sweet-tangy flesh that is beloved by those in the know, including New Zealanders a feijoa season is highly anticipated across the Tasman.

Feijoa (pronounced fay-joh-uh) grows well in Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales, and the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. There are approximately two weeks remaining for this yearas season, with supply expected to come primarily from Western Australia.

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aThe volcano was illuminated by this beautiful lighta: David del Rosario DA!vilaas best phone picture
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:00:18 GMT
From https:

The national park ranger recalls capturing the landscape created by an eruption in La Palma

When the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma, the Canary Islands, erupted in September 2021, it caused more than APS760m of damage, forcing the evacuation of 6,000 people and killing one, an elderly man who died after inhaling toxic gases. It would be 83 days before officials declared the eruption over, on Christmas Day 2021.

David del Rosario DA!vila has been a national park ranger in La Palma since 2016. A self-described mountain man, he took this shot in the area surrounding the eruption in late October 2022, just over a year after it had begun. aThe location and landscape were created by the eruption, making it one of the youngest areas on the planet,a Del Rosario DA!vila says. aEverything you see in this photograph is new. The dead trees are from a pine forest that used to exist there; the mountain is made from ash from the volcano.a

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Boris Johnsonas anger and lack of apology avery Trumpiana, says former spokesman a UK politics live
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:19:03 GMT
From https:

Former spokesman for Boris Johnson does not believe this is the end of his political career despite standing down as MP

Weave got a bit more from Ed Davey, who has accused Boris Johnson of having aa track record of deceit and liesa.

I never thought he was fit to be an MP, let alone prime minister. He has a track record of deceit and lies.

But I hope today is not just about Boris Johnson. I think itas about the whole Conservative party who put him there in the first place.

I think there should actually be a general election.

I think the chaos and division in the Conservative party, the fact that theyare so out of touch on the cost of living, on the NHS, it means weave got to put the country out of its misery with these Conservatives.

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Nuggets move to brink of teamas first NBA title after Game 4 win over Heat
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 03:22:48 GMT
From https:

The mission for the Denver Nuggets was clear: Come to Miami, get two wins and head back home with a chance to finally become NBA champions.

Itas officially there for the taking.

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Colombian amiraclea children found alive 40 days after Amazon jungle plane crash
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 03:47:44 GMT
From https:

The Indigenous children a one of whom was just 11 months old a are thought to have eaten food dropped by rescuers and used their own ancestral knowledge

Malnourished and covered in insect bites, four Indigenous children were rescued alive from the Colombian Amazon on Friday afternoon, 40 days after the plane they were travelling in crashed into the jungle.

In a remarkable feat of resilience, the children survived heavy storms in one of the most inhospitable parts of the country, home to predatory animals and armed groups.

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A million good lucks: California family finds over 1m copper pennies
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 01:13:59 GMT
From https:

John Reyes and his family were cleaning out his father-in-lawas home when they made the surprise discovery

Cleaning out a house for renovation can oftentimes produce some unsavory surprises, but a family in Los Angeles got lucky a a million times over a with one of their finds.

John Reyes, a realtor in the Inland Empire area, was helping his wife, Elizabeth, clean out her fatheras 1900s-era home last year when they discovered more than 1m copper pennies in a cramped crawlspace in the basement, according to KTLA news. The trove has a face value of at least $10,000, but could be worth more than $1m.

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Government afanning culture wara over free speech, says UKas first LGBTQ+ history professor
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:16 GMT
From https:

Issue blown out of proportion, says Matt Cook, after appointment of afree speech tsara for higher education

Oxford Universityas new professor of LGBTQ+ history has accused the government of afanning a culture wara over freedom of speech, insisting it is alive and well in higher education.

Matt Cook, who was this week named as the first Jonathan Cooper chair of the history of sexualities, a newly created post at Mansfield College, was speaking only days after the appointment of the governmentas first afree speech tsara for higher education.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukraine has penetrated Russian lines in some areas, says UK
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:16:35 GMT
From https:

UK Ministry of Defence says Ukraine has alikely made good progressa in some areas but that progress is aslowera in others

The latest intelligence update from the UKas Ministry of Defence said over the past 48 hours asignificanta Ukrainian operations have taken place in several sectors of eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces have alikely made good progressa and apenetrated the first line of Russian defencesa, the MoD added. However, in other areas aUkrainian progress has been slowera.

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aMagicala wildlife-rich rainforest being planted in Devon
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:16 GMT
From https:

Thirty-hectare site above Dart valley will include lichens and ferns and could take a century to reach maturity

A temperate rainforest, a magical, wildlife-rich place of mosses, lichens and ferns, is being planted on the slopes above a West Country river, tumbling almost to the doors of one of the UKas most green-minded towns.

Tree species including sessile oak, birch, rowan, holly, alder, willow and hazel are to be introduced to the 30-hectare (74-acre) site above the Dart valley and close to the Devon town of Totnes in the south of England.

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aHelp mea: South Carolina woman shops passenger to police with silent message
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:15 GMT
From https:

Driver of Jeep stopped for running red light helps police jail man a her own passenger a suspected of attempted murder and kidnap

By mouthing the words ahelp mea to an officer who had pulled her over for a traffic stop, a woman in South Carolina helped authorities jail a man suspected of a shooting and a kidnapping: her own passenger, according to authorities.

The unusual encounter began when officer Kayla Wallace pulled over a woman behind the wheel of a Jeep that ran a red light during the early evening of 28 May, the North Myrtle Beach police department said in a statement this week. Wallace noticed the woman was in distress while seated alongside 29-year-old Collin Bates, the policeas statement added.

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Elliot Page on Juno, Hollywoodas dark side and coming out twice
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:14 GMT
From https:

When the feelgood movie made him an Oscar-nominated star, the strain of hiding who he was almost forced him to quit acting. He explains how opening up about being gay, then trans, saved his life

Elliot Pageas memoir is called Pageboy. At its heart is the story of his transitioning from an Oscar-nominated actress, best known for the wonderful coming-of-age comedy drama Juno, to one of the worldas most high profile trans men. He writes, rather beautifully, about gender dysphoria, top surgery and finally finding himself. But the book is so much more than a tale of transition.

Pageboy is a modern-day Hollywood Babylon, written by a sensitive soul rather than a scandalmonger. Page depicts a film industry even more rancid than we may have suspected. This is a world where itas not only the Harvey Weinsteins at the top of the pyramid who get to abuse the young and powerless a just about everybody seems to have a go. Itas a world where most people appear to be closeted in one way or another, a world where more acting is done off set than on.

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aWhat I do is still tabooa: the people who sell images of their unlikely body parts online
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:00:18 GMT
From https:

From dirty feet to immaculate nails a and hairy armpits a thereas a market for the most unusual photos

George Woodville, 20, UK

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From months on a remote island to bear-infested mountains: four amiraclea child survival stories
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:50:37 GMT
From https:

Four young children surviving 40 days in the Amazonian jungle has attracted global headlines, as have other children who triumphed against the odds

Forty days after their plane crashed into the Colombian Amazon jungle, four Indigenous children have been rescued a found malnourished, covered in insect bites, but alive.

The siblings from the Huioto Indigenous community a aged 13, nine, four and 11-months a survived one of the most uninhabitable parts of the country in a remarkable feat of resilience against heavy storms, predatory animals, and armed groups.

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Disco then shower at 33,000ft: Dubai hotelier launches APS10k-an-hour aparty jeta
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:16 GMT
From https:

Plane can accommodate up to 16 people and is aimed at super-rich who awant to enjoy the money while still alivea

Forget partying on the ground: the super-rich are being told to do it at 33,000ft by a multimillionaire Dubai hotelier launching a APS10,000-an-hour afive-star party jeta.

Kabir Mulchandani, the founder and chair of the luxury hotel group FIVE, has bought a Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty and claims to have transformed it into a aboundary-breaking fusion of hospitality and private aviationa, complete with dancing area, king-size bed and shower.

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Blind date: aI guessed she was Canadian a sheas from Glasgowa
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 05:00:13 GMT
From https:

Alison, 29, a data scientist meets Emma, 29, a policy officer

What were you hoping for?
A good story and to rack up a bill that would give me nightmares if I were paying myself. And potentially to meet the love of my life.

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Undaunted review: from Gellhorn to Abramson, the women who changed US journalism
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:16 GMT
From https:

Brooke Kroegeras terrific book focuses on the sexism of the mainstream media, a barrier and disparity that remains

Armed with a flask of scotch, a pen and notepad, Martha Gellhorn snuck on to a hospital ship headed for Omaha Beach, Normandy. At dawn on 6 June 1944, she became the first American correspondent to reach the battle. Colliers magazine honored her with a five-page spread. But as Brooke Kroeger writes in her sweeping history, Undaunted: How Women Changed American Journalism, Gellhornas name didnat appear on the cover. Colliers bestowed that honor on her husband, Ernest Hemingway.

Soon after publication, the US military confiscated Gellhornas press credentials. Hemingwayas third wife had brazenly evaded rules barring female correspondents from the frontlines. Utterly undaunted, Gellhorn went on to chronicle every major conflict in the 20th century.

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aThree months ago, this wasnat possiblea: exiled Russians dare to dream of Putinas fall
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 04:00:11 GMT
From https:

Opposition leaders have begun to plan for the end of the regime a and some believe it is now inevitable

Is Russia about to experience a period of dramatic political change? If so, can exiled democratic forces unite into a coherent bloc, and is there any way for them to force themselves on to the political scene?

Nearly 300 exiled Russian opposition politicians and activists gathered to discuss these questions in the European parliament earlier this week, the congress coming as news broke of the Nova Kakhovka dam destruction, the latest grim episode in Vladimir Putinas war on Ukraine.

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Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 472 of the invasion
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 00:46:25 GMT
From https:

Putin and Zelenskiy tussle over Ukraineas counteroffensive narrative; water levels begin to recede in flooded regions near destroyed Kakhovka dam

Russian president Vladimir Putin said Ukraine had begun its counteroffensive against Russian troops but that efforts aso far have faileda after Moscow said it repelled several Ukrainian assaults. However, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy made no formal announcement of specific developments on the battlefield, but praised the aheroisma of his countryas soldiers fighting atough battlesa.

Water levels are gradually receding in parts of southern Ukraine that were flooded after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, according to officials. Meanwhile, evidence is growing that the dam was blown up after seismic data showed there was a blast at the site in the early hours of Tuesday. Norsar, the Norwegian Seismic Array, said signals from a regional station in Romania pointed to an explosion at 2.54am. Norsar did not draw conclusions on who was responsible.

The US said Russia appeared to be deepening its defence cooperation with Iran and had received hundreds of one-way attack drones that it is using to strike Ukraine. Citing newly declassified information, the White House said the drones were built in Iran, shipped across the Caspian Sea and then used by Russian forces against Ukraine.

The Wagner group has been accused of stoking aanarchya on Russiaas frontlines after one of the Kremlinas military commanders claimed Yevgeny Prigozhinas mercenaries had kidnapped and tortured his soldiers during the battle for Bakhmut. In a video posted online, Lt Col Roman Venevitin also accused Wagner soldiers of stealing arms, forcing mobilised soldiers to sign contracts with Wagner, and attempting to extort weapons from the Russian defence ministry in exchange for releasing kidnapped soldiers.

Iceland announced it would suspend work at its embassy in Russia as of 1 August, the first country to do so, and asked Russia to limit its operations in Reykjavik. aThe current situation simply does not make it viable for the small foreign service of Iceland to operate an embassy in Russia,a foreign minister Thordis Gylfadottir said.

Russia will start deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus after the facilities are ready on 7-8 July, Putin told his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Friday in a meeting in Sochi, Russia.

Nato allies on Friday condemned Russiaas decision to withdraw from the treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe (CFE).

Hungary said on Friday it had received a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia, a release that Ukraine welcomed while expressing concern that it had not been informed.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thanked Joe Biden for his $2.1bn (APS1.6bn) security assistance package. In a tweet, Zelenskiy said the contribution is amore important than evera since the Kakhovka dam collapse.

The Japanese prime minister, Fumio Kishida, told Zelenskiy on Friday that Japan will offer emergency humanitarian aid worth about $5m (APS3.9m) after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, a Japanese government spokesperson has said.

Ukraineas domestic Security Service (SBU) said on Friday it had intercepted a telephone call proving a Russian asabotage groupa blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric station and dam in southern Ukraine. A one-and-a-half minute audio clip on its Telegram channel of the alleged conversation featured two unidentified men who appeared to be discussing the fallout from the disaster in Russian. One of the men said aOur saboteur group is there. They wanted to cause fear with this dam. It did not go according to the plan. More than they planned.a

The Kremlin on Friday accused Ukrainian forces of killing civilian victims of flooding caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine in repeated shelling attacks, including one pregnant woman. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the purported attacks abarbarica. Russia did not provide any evidence to back up its claims.

Russian deputy prime minister Marat Khusnullin said on Friday that Crimeaas water supply will not be affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, and the peninsula had enough water reserves for 500 days. A canal from the destroyed reservoir fed drinking water to the peninsula. Kyiv cut access to the canal in 2014, after Russia illegally seized Crimea and claimed to annex it.

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It took me a long time, but I've finally fallen in love with being gay | Eleanor Margolis
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:00:17 GMT
From https:

I owe my happiness to the queer friends I made. And to my younger self who hated being gay: all is forgiven

I was lying awake the other night, thinking about death, when I realised something big. Of all the things I could be reincarnated as a a tapeworm, a dung beetle, a writer (again) a the thing I most fear is coming back as straight. Honestly, the idea sends a shiver down my spine. Because, no disrespect to my straight friends, but I donat know how they get through the day. Straight women, in particular. I donat understand how they go through life, dealing with the whole power dynamic in opposite-sex relationships, without even the option of dating other women. I donat think I could hack it, and they have my utmost respect.

Itas not just the romantic side of things, though a over the years, being gay has shifted my entire worldview. Itas made me think twice about every social norm, from the nuclear family to uncomfortable footwear. And Iam not saying that all straight people lack the imagination to challenge these things too, but being gay really helps. Recently, it dawned on me that Iam perfectly within my right to shop for clothes in the menas section, and that in itself has been a revelation. Again, I know straight women who do this. But when it comes to wearing amenasa clothes with any real ease and confidence, being a lesbian just helps.

Eleanor Margolis is a columnist for the i newspaper and Diva

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Josh Taylor and TeA3fimo LA3pez out to jump-start stalled ascents in title fight
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:30:14 GMT
From https:

A pair of former unified champions who have strayed from once-clear paths to stardom will meet on Saturday at Madison Square Garden with a chance to restore faded luster

Some of boxingas most compelling matchups wither on the vine before theyare finally made and others take place before theyave ripened. One could argue that Saturdayas fight at Madison Square Garden between Josh Taylor and TeA3fimo LA3pez falls partway into each column.

Like the soupy haze that has enveloped Manhattan for most of the week, the outlook ahead of the scheduled 12-round showdown for Tayloras WBO junior welterweight title is thick with uncertainty. Both men are former unified champions in different weight classes whose once-clear paths to mainstream stardom have been diverted not by outright disaster, but lengthy spells of inactivity and performances short of their heightened standards. Yet each is heartened by the reality that a restoration of luster is one big result away. Crossroads fights like these seldom take place so close to the summit.

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Manchester Cityas odyssey from Dickov to the brink of immortality
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:18 GMT
From https:

After escaping the third tier in 1999, City are one win from the treble. We chart the defining moments that transformed their fortunes

A real sliding doors moment as Paul Dickovas last-minute equaliser in the 1999 Division Two play-off final helps City climb out of the third tier. Dickovas strike into the top corner to send the game to extra time and penalties (in which Nicky Weaver is the City hero) feels like the flap of a butterfly wing a would City have become the behemoth they are now without the Scot burying his finish past Vince Bartram to break Gillingham hearts at Wembley?

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Italian special forces storm Turkish cargo ship after attempted hijack
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 08:01:51 GMT
From https:

Stowaways allegedly tried to take sailors hostage after being discovered on Galatea Seaways bound for France

Italian special forces have stormed a cargo ship sailing from Turkey to France after about 15 people armed with knives attempted to hijack the vessel.

The asylum seekers, 13 men and two women, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, had allegedly sneaked undetected on to the roll-on, roll-off cargo ship, named Galatea Seaways, in the hope of reaching Europe.

AFP and Ansa contributed to this report

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Hero who saved hundreds of children during Rwandan genocide dies aged 61
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 05:00:14 GMT
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Orphanage run by Damas Gisimba and his brother became refuge from militias during genocide that killed 800,000 Rwandans

Damas Gisimba, who sheltered and saved the lives of hundreds of people during the Rwandan genocide, has died. He was 61.

In 1994, Gisimba and his brother were running an orphanage founded by their parents in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

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aIam demoralised about the landscape of fashiona: cult designer Martine Rose
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 06:00:15 GMT
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As menas fashion week gets underway in London, Martine Rose, a favourite of Drake and Kendrick Lamar, opens up about the lack of support for fashion designers in the UK and how her work references the aoppresseda, not the aoppressora

Menswear trends such as track tops and weird trainers may are often attributed to a combination of social media, celebrity and kismet. But thereas another factor that links them: the designer Martine Rose.

The London-born 42-year-old might not be a household name like Ralph Lauren or Giorgio Armani, but she has a greater influence on what fashionable young men wear in 2023. Having designed menswear since 2007, she is an originator of some of the more outlandish trends ranging from gorpcore (hiking gear for people who donat hike) to Justin Bieberas wide-legged jeans. Her climbing collection and cult football shirt based on Liverpoolas 1992 strip are already five years old. Last year, a heeled version of Nikeas Shox sneakers a perhaps the weirdest of weird shoes a became the go-to trainer among the fashion crowd and sneakerheads alike.

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Tove Janssonas unseen Moomin sketches to go on show in Paris
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:17 GMT
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Exhibition focuses on life and career of abrave and uncompromisinga Finnish artist and writer

The Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson wooed children the world over with her troll creations the Moomins, the central characters in a series of novels, short stories and comic strips.

A new exhibition in Paris is to reveal never publicly seen archive material from the late artist, including a number of Moomin sketches.

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aThe volcano was illuminated by this beautiful lighta: David del Rosario DA!vilaas best phone picture
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 09:00:18 GMT
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The national park ranger recalls capturing the landscape created by an eruption in La Palma

When the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma, the Canary Islands, erupted in September 2021, it caused more than APS760m of damage, forcing the evacuation of 6,000 people and killing one, an elderly man who died after inhaling toxic gases. It would be 83 days before officials declared the eruption over, on Christmas Day 2021.

David del Rosario DA!vila has been a national park ranger in La Palma since 2016. A self-described mountain man, he took this shot in the area surrounding the eruption in late October 2022, just over a year after it had begun. aThe location and landscape were created by the eruption, making it one of the youngest areas on the planet,a Del Rosario DA!vila says. aEverything you see in this photograph is new. The dead trees are from a pine forest that used to exist there; the mountain is made from ash from the volcano.a

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Germans best tippers in Europe, finds poll. Italians? Not so much
Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2023 07:00:17 GMT
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Dutiful German generosity revealed in analysis of gratuity habits in six EU countries, the UK and US

In Germany it seems to be pretty much automatic, pretty much all the time. In France and Spain it all depends a presumably on social subtleties that you have to be French or Spanish to understand. In Italy, why would you even bother?

When, and how much, to tip is a question that has been vexing visitors to Europe for as long as people have been travelling around the continent. Outside their own country, it seems even Europeans donat know the answer.

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Man Assaults Corey Katir